Orlando music blog & zine

EP review: PLEASURES – ‘The RUB’

pleas·ure – (n.) a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment.

I caught my first glimpse of PLEASURES at GROWTH, a half-show, half-visual spectacle that served as the unveiling of a mobile light installation from Orlando musician/artist, ARK. PLEASURES played directly before ARK. No doubt. He picked the right band. The spacey bliss of PLEASURES lulled the audience into a trance; a blanket of warm synthesizers wrapped each individual. This feeling translates directly onto their beautifully produced debut-EP, The RUB. Enjoy.

Three of the four songs that make-up The RUB are over five minutes long. Each one of them whips and whirls the listener through space and time, as instruments crash over each other. On the opener, “Everything Forever,” the guitar and synth are subdued during the verses, but pulse with intense color in the instrumental breaks between them. They continue to soar higher and higher, finally exploding into stardust after almost six minutes. Vocalist Katherine Kelly seems to control them with her heavily modulated commands. She cries, “I want you.”

These robotic vocals glitch out on the next song, “Gemini Twin.” The synths do the same, firing like malfunctioning lasers. It’s important to note that these wild elements are always offset by a tight, precise rhythm section. Check the infectious drum beat on “Man is A God.” It forms a launching pad for the other instruments.

For as weird as The RUB is, its most supernatural moment is the final track, “Tryna Get The Honey From The Pot.” A pounding electronic beat serves as a pallet for Kelly’s twisted coos. The layers of sound bind to form a wall of static. We have truly transcended this space. Then, the EP just stops. Probably, a sucked into a black hole or some shit.